Proposed Bill Would Give Customers $3,500 To Buy U.S.-Made Cars

Revoking a tax cut for automakers would pay for the program.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced a bill to help Americans buy American-made cars. Called the American Cars, American Jobs Act, the bill proposes giving a $3,500 incentive to customers who buy a new America-made vehicle. The incentive is available for new-car purchases and qualifying five-year leases.

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Brown’s bill also proposes revoking “a special GOP tax cut on overseas profits for auto manufacturers that ship jobs overseas" to pay for the temporary program. Vehicles with at least 45 percent of materials form the U.S. and Canada would qualify for the program.

“There are two simple parts: customers who buy cars made in America get a discount and corporations that send jobs overseas lose a special tax break,” Brown said in the bill's announcement. “We shouldn’t be handing out 50 percent off coupons to companies that send jobs overseas.”

“American autoworkers have built the cars our families have driven for decades, and they need our support,” said Rich Rankin, UAW Region 2-B Director. “Sen. Brown’s bill does just that. The American Cars, American Jobs Act takes important steps to level the playing field for the Ohio auto industry and to make sure Ohio’s tradition of excellence in auto manufacturing continues.

In Brown’s announcement, the senator called out GM for its decision to announce producing the new Chevy Blazer in Mexico the same day the company ended the second shift at its Lordstown, Ohio plant.

Right now, the bill is just a proposal, and likely several months away from a vote consideration in the U.S. Senate.